The Trump administration is intentionally strangling the flow of legal immigrants into the U.S. by adding layers of red tape to the FBI's vetting process, NBC News reports.
By adding procedural requirements to the FBI and other agencies, the White House has bogged down the process and effectively slowed the amount of refugees being allowed into the U.S. legally, NBC reports.
The U.S. is on pace to admit up to 21,000 refugees by the end of September, far below its own ceiling of 45,000 set last year, which was a decrease from the Obama administration's goal of 110,000 in 2017.
"It would be ridiculous to raise the refugee ceiling way above what can feasibly be accomplished under the new vetting standards. This year’s numbers have proven 45,000 is too high," a DHS official told NBC News.
However, the precipitous drop in refugees is in line with President Donald Trump's top immigration adviser Stephen Miller, who reportedly wants the refugee cap set at 15,000.
The FBI's role is vetting applicants against databases to ensure there are no links to extremists or terrorists. Sources tell NBC that the FBI has been forced to check additional databases to ensure refugees aren't terrorists.
Further, the Department of Homeland Security has drastically cut staff that handled refugee admissions, NBC reports.
"These are all political decisions. They're not actually addressing capacity issues," Jennifer Quigley of Human Rights First told NBC, adding that the Trump administration is poised to let the refugee program "die a slow, painful death."
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